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THE CIVIL-SERVICE LAW 

AND 

THE RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHTS OF BELLIGERENCY 
TO THE CUBANS. 



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SPEECH 



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HON. EDWARD ROBB, 



OF MISSOURI, 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



JANUARY &, 1898. 



WASHINGTON. 
I898. 






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68558 



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SPEECH 

OF 

HON. EDWARD EOBB. 



The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and 
having under consideration the bill (H. R. 4751) making appropriations for the 
legislative, executive, and .judicial expenses of the Government for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1899, and for other purposes- 
Mr. ROBB said: 

Mr. Chairman: The Republican party opposes the double stand- 
ard, but seems to favor double dealing — that of promising one 
thing and doing the other. And their promises in relation to 
their fulfillment, stand at about the ratio of 16 to 1. We 
find them constantly veering from one position to the other — 
from a declaration in favor of bimetallism by international agree- 
ment, to an effort to more firmly fasten upon us the single gold 
standard; from a declaration in favor of the civil-service law, to 
an effort to overturn or modify it for partisan purposes; from a 
declaration in favor of Cuban independence, to an almost cruel 
neglect of those people. If the violation and disregard of party 
platforms and party pledges, were the only offenses; if law, prece- 
v. dents, and the solemn enactments of the Government were not 
V lightly considered, and in many cases openly and notoriously 
s trampled upon and plain statutes set at naught, there might for 
the time being be more substance in the pending discussion of 
this civil-service law. With the practice of, applying or refusing 
to apply it; extending or contracting it in its operation agreeable 
to the whim or desire of the party in power or the officer in 
charge, the difference in the effect between the so-called reforming 
of the law and its complete repeal, would not seem to be as great 
as one might at first have supposed. 

With or without a reformation of the law; with or without its 
repeal, around the ' ' festal board " of official life are gradually but 
surely gathered in, those in touch and in sympathy with the party 
in power. With many, it is true, it is a forlorn hope, and they are 
driven hence to battle against the pangs of their own disappoint- 
ment and to reap the rewards, if not of "party," at least of in- 
dividual "perfidy." But there should be no cloak in the shape of 
a civil-service law, or any other law, to cover up any system of 
wrongdoing, and no law should remain upon the statute books ad- 
mitting of such latitude of construction as permits of individuals 
under the same conditions, being and not being qualified for offi- 
cial preferment. 

If the expectations of party followers have been too great; if the 
promises and pledges of party leaders have been too prolix, the 
sting of disappointment can not be appeased, and should not be, 
under cover of one of those automatic laws about which we have 
recently heard so much. I am of those who believe that party 
3883 3 



platforms should not be used as instruments to mislead and de- 
ceive, but should be lived up to; that the laws should be admin- 
istered as we find, them and in accordance with their spirit and 
intent, and that truth and honor should maintain among all men, 
whether in public or private life. And I am as firmly of the opin- 
ion that party loyalty is deserving of party preferment. 

If given an opportunity, I shall vote for the repeal of the civil- 
service law, and that having been accomplished, I will look for- 
ward with renewed anticipations, to the glory of that day, and the 
grandeur and magnificence of this Government, when every en- 
gine of its mighty machinery shall be fired with the spirit of lib- 
erty, andevery cog and wheel and rod and axle shall be lubricated 
by Democratic energy and kept in place by Democratic honor. 
That day will come, and come quickly, Mr. Chairman; for the 
American people are' intelligent and they are honest; they are im- 
bued with a sense of justice and right and fair dealing, and will 
not long tolerate hypocrisy and deception and the violation of sol- 
emn pledges by any party or any set of men. 

Mr. Chairman, we witnessed but recently, one of the most re- 
markable and sublime spectacles in the history of political strug- 
gles in this country. A great party and a great people, while in 
power, as it were, turning aside its accredited leaders at the risk of 
defeat, repudiating them for the sake of a principle which they 
had. violated. Though the career of that party has been one of 
splendid achievements and matchless statesmanship; though its 
devotion to principles which are just has been its vitalizing power 
from its foundation, nothing is more sublime or a more enduring 
testimony of its incorruptibility and the immutability of its prin- 
ciples than the speedy, determined, and unmistakable terms in 
which it declared its adherence to the fundamental ideas of its or- 
ganization — the fundamental principles of our Government. It 
is, in deed, in truth, and in spirit the "great party of the people." 

Mr. Chairman, have we aught but cause for congratulations to 
the country and words of good cheer to the hosts of Democracy, 
with the spectacle as presented by the majority party in this 
House? The assurances coming from the distinguished gentle- 
man from Indiana [Mr. Johnson] that repeal would be disastrous, 
that no man can be a Republican and be a spoilsman; and the no 
less earnest appeal coming from the distinguished gentleman from 
North Carolina [Mr. Linney] for a repeal of the law, and with the 
warning that if at was not done that there would not be enough 
of them left at the next election to grease a gimlet to bore the 
hole to put them in. 

Well, that would be a most fortunate condition for us to con- 
template—the Republican party without grease, and caring noth- 
ing for office for the sake of office. Why, they would not even 
make it interesting. With thes6 apparent different conceptions 
of different understandings, the only argument therefore that now 
remains in favor of continuing the law, is the expediency of grati- 
fying a sentiment, and keeping up an outward appearance of a 
condition that is unreal, and of a practice that does not exist. 

It would more comport with the dignity of the American people 
to get rid of a law so easily and so frequently evaded; and it is of 
far less consequence to us that the majority party in this Hous 
may see fit to set aside their party platform in this respect, than in 
many other instances in which they have seen proper to disregard 
it. But, Mr. Chairman, there is another question, which has en- 

2883 



listed the sympathy and the deep concern of every liberty-loving 
citizen in our country, and which has more than once been a sub- 
ject of consideration by the legislative and administrative depart- 
ments of our Government. I refer to the Cuban question. More 
than a year and a half ago the Republican party in its national 
platform declared that — 

The Government of Spain having lost control of Cuba, and being unable to 
protect the property or lives of resident American citizens, or to comply with 
its treaty obligations, we believe that the Government of the United States 
should actively use its influence and offices to restore peace and give independ- 
ence to the island. 

Who is here now as the representative of that party seeking to 
give effect to that declaration? Where is the one among your 
number who has or will raise his voice in answer to the cry for 
liberty and the wail of suffering and starving humanity? Where 
are those of you who will join us on this side of the House in 
bringing before it at the earliest possible moment the resolution 
of the Senate, passed at the last session, recognizing belligerent 
rights to the insurgent Cubans? 

What has intervened between then and now occasioning this 
inaction on your part, on so important a question? Why delay 
longer in the fulfillment of that solemn pledge, which you pub- 
lished to the world, and assurance of support, to the unhappy 
people of that unfortunate island? 

Situated within less than 100 miles of us; washed by the same 
waters that wash our shores; embracing a territory of vast prairies, 
of fertile fields, stretching 800 miles in length by 80 miles in 
breadth; lying like a gem in the ocean expanse, and in sight almost 
of this ' ' land of the free and home of the brave," it is but natural 
that her people should have caught the inspiration of our institu- 
tions , and become imbued with that unquenchable desire to breathe 
the air of freedom. 

In the progress of accomplishing this end, a conflict has been 
waged, characterized on the one side by all the courage, endurance, 
and generalship of the ancient Greeks, and on the other, by the most 
inhuman methods of the most barbaric ages. Whether, indeed, 
the methods which have been adopted by the contending forces 
have given to the conflict the dignity of modern warfare; whether, 
indeed, in the midst of the carnage and the desolation which has 
ensued civil authority, organized and perfected in every particu- 
lar, has been attained, it is nevertheless a war; a war of savage 
brutality and unexampled cruelty; a war so momentous in its con- 
sequences that it threatens the extermination of an entire people, 
and the destruction of every productive industry of that once pros- 
perous country. The heroism of thatband of patriots; the skill, the 
ability, the courage, and the manhood with which they have con- 
ducted themselves under the most trying conditions ; their devotion 
to a principle — a principle which has lighted the pathway of centu- 
ries—has demonstrated over and over again their ability for self- 
government. 

Mr. Chairman, the velvety glove of diplomacy has suffered, if 
not encouraged, as a means of subjugating the insurgents, a sys- 
tematic and deliberate course of starvation; and appeals emanat- 
ing from the head of our Government to the charitable instincts 
of our people, whilst denying them of the political power and as- 
surances of their Government, which the laws of God, of man, 
and of nations has given them, does not fulfill the measure of 
their duty, or the duty and responsibility of this proud Republic. 
2883 



6 

If I have read with understanding, the recognition of what is 
called belligerency is the recognition of a fact, that fact being 
that a civil conflict exists in a foreign state; and the reasons for 
the exercise of this power are that the rights and interests of the 
declaring country, are so far affected as to require it to define its 
position. It is also sometimes put upon humanitarian grounds. 
The effect of the recognition is to give to the insurgents a recog- 
nized status, and the opportunities and privileges accorded under 
international law. But it is not, if justified by the situation, 
necessarily an unfriendly act toward the parent State. 

Mr. Chairman, it has been said that "a good cause and a good 
will, animate men to struggle in proportion to the size of their 
wrongs and the grossness of their oppressors." The Cuban strug- 
gle goes on and is unabated. Propositions of autonomy are re- 
jected as insincere, and as concessions obtained at too dear a cost; 
nothing bivt absolute independence will terminate the war. The 
recognition of belligerency by this Government under these cir- 
cumstances, however construed or in whatever light it might be 
considered, is a duty it owes to its own citizens; it is a duty it 
owes to the contending parties, and it is a duty it owes to the 
peace of the world. 

It is a duty which justice and the noblest instincts of humanity 
demand should be discharged without hesitation or further delay, 
in keeping with that dignity and firmness which belong to our 
glorious career as a nation and our preeminent position in the 
councils of freedom. [Applause on the Democratic side.] 
2883 



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